Superheroes

This is a much belated post that I've been meaning to write for weeks now: in April, I went to Modena with some friends/coworkers to eat a traditional Modenese dinner as chosen by Massimo, a beloved ex-coworker. There was also Letizia, who was an adored work companion, Tiziano, and Massimo's girlfriend, Katia.

The food is pictured above. It centers around gnocco and tigelle, the bread - gnocco is like fried dough (but it's savory, not sweet), and tigelle are like little English muffins. They come to the table piping hot, and you put in prosciutto and other meats, with soft cheeses like squacquerone (try saying that 10 times fast). That cheese is actually from the other half of this region (Romagna), and I have no idea how it ended up in a meal that's traditionally Emiliano. Suffice to say that these longstanding rival areas will just have to admit that they eat the same food.

One of the highlights was lardo, pictured below. It's a mixture of lard, bacon, rosemary and garlic (I hope I got that right, Massimo must correct me if I'm wrong). You put it on the hot bread and then sprinkle on parmesan cheese, and make a little sandwich out of it. I have to say that it did not appeal to me much at first, but it's sooooooo good and sort of addictive that you can't stop eating once you start.



Anyway, this fat-saturated meal is accompanied by cut up raw vegetables, which you dip into a bowl of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Incidentally, balsamic comes from Modena. It's so, so good. And somehow the acid-y vegetables cut the fat of the bread/lard variations, so that you can go on forever. (My parents may or may not be proud to know that I was the last standing at the table, eating-wise. Not just because I'm slow, but because I ate everything in sight!)

The post-dinner activity was one of the more bizarre experiences I've ever had in Italy. Katia works in an action figure importing company, and she took us to visit her office. This is an insane place. There are action figures of every type, all over the place, including some very gory ones with blood tubes that you can use to make vivid injury scenes. The mechanically animated figures, some of which are monsters, are light activated. Katia explained that it could be a bit scary to work in a place where monster figures randomly start talking when you turn the lights on. Indeed, it was incredibly creepy.



Tiziano enjoyed the blood and gore. (Typically!)



Massimo enjoyed the laser swords. (This is what the company owner's office looks like. And the entire place was like this. There were toys on every available surface. Literally. Can you imagine having light sabers and 3-D Godfather posters and Simpsons action figures in your office? For business purposes??)



All in all, we had an enriching experience. Gastronomically and culturally.



Postscript: At the end of the evening I was forced to harass this poor statue, which was completely dusty and forgotten at the beginning of the stairwell. Massimo and Tiziano, in particular, were hoping for obscene gestures. This is my original reaction - uncontrollable laughter and inability to carry out their requests. (I eventually succeeded, though. Please contact me for those photos!)